THE EDITOR: In 1905, Spanish philosopher Jorge Santayana coined the famous term, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
On September 1, 1939, Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland and precipitated the start of World War II.
Hitler had a lot to prove as he had fought and was injured in World War I. He was most upset that Germany lost that war and wanted to restore her former glory by conquering countries within her orbit. This was done under the guise of more land for Germans.
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Vladimir Putin, the current Russian leader, was a KGB (Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union) agent stationed in Dresden, East Germany.
In later years, Putin spoke about his huge disappointment at how his KGB leaders in Moscow failed to support him when the Berlin Wall fell. He, just like Hitler, has something to prove.
Putin also remembers the embarrassing stand-down by former Soviet Union premier Nikita Krushchev during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
The Los Angeles Times, in an article dated November 8, 2014, stated that "Putin's belligerence today had its roots in the fall of the Berlin Wall." It also stated that "worry about renewed military conflict with Russia is now a front-of-mind concern for policymakers in Washington and Europe - not least because there are few other means of dealing with Russia."
In early 2014, Russia, under Putin, invaded Crimea and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.
This is quite similar to what Hitler did with Austria on March 12, 1938. The Anschluss happened when he annexed Austria into Nazi Germany.
In March/April 2021, Putin started a massive build-up of troops and military equipment on Russia's border with Ukraine.
Ostensibly, he is concerned that Ukraine will join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). This may lead to the placement of nuclear missiles in Ukraine and thus pose a major threat to Russian security.
The other side to this situation is that Putin may want to conquer the whole of Ukraine because he already controls Crimea.
Diplomatic efforts have all failed to convince Putin to pull back his troops from the border.
Russia is quietly moving all non-diplomatic personnel out of its embassies in Ukraine and six Russian landing ships are also on their way to Ukraine.
A silent observer in this is China. If Putin invades Ukraine, will China invade Taiwan?
Will Putin "blink" and stand down as Krushchev did? Or will he drag the world into another world war?
All we can do is pray.
LINUS F DIDIER
Mt Hope
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